


Ride or Die

by jongnugget



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Criminals, Alternate Universe - Thieves, Angst, Angst and Humor, Crimes & Criminals, Humor, M/M, Romance, Smut, Violence, and trying to make a bonnie and clyde kinda thing, just me being a bitch for this type of stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 12:27:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18992653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongnugget/pseuds/jongnugget
Summary: Ride or Die - R.O.D., Someone who is always by your side and will never leave. They have your back no matter what. They would do anything for you and will fight for you. They'd go through hell and back together with you."Even God didn't know where they were going. And he sure as hell didn't care."





	Ride or Die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been meaning to write a story like this for the longest time. There's just something strangely fascinating about a criminals!AU that I figured now is a time as good as any to start. 
> 
> So yeah. KaiSoo + squad as criminals. 
> 
> With that being said, enjoy~ 
> 
> PSA:  I do feel the need to mention that 1) this is merely fiction and 2) all knowledge on illegal activities I have obtained through the power of google. Don't call the police on me lmao
> 
> Warnings: even though this story is also marked as humor, do keep in mind it will also explore some heavier themes due to the nature of the story. Aside from swearing, fighting, drinking, drugs and other illegal activities, it might involve character death as well, so proceed at your own risk

His fingers were running over the smooth surface of the counter, the stones on the rings under the glass shining under the artificial lights in the store.

Green emeralds. Blue sapphires. Red rubies.

Catching the light and shimmering mysteriously as he slowly walked down the counter, his heart drumming louder in his ears with every step he took.

It wasn’t the first time he’d done this. It certainly wasn’t going to be the last.

But no matter how many times he had gone through this, his heart always started beating wildly in his chest, the horror of getting caught seeping into his veins, the rush of the risk making his breaths curt and shallow.

His eyes shot up, straight to the man who throwing looks at him from the end of the counter. A little shorter than him, with wide eyes and soft looking lips. An unreadable, warning look hidden in those brown orbs.

Jongin took yet another step forward.

It all happened quick.

He spared one last look down to the rings on display under the glass, before he raised one hand to grab the shoulder of the shorter man in front of himself.

He yanked him closer, his arm snaking its way around his shoulders and throat, holding him in almost a chokehold, as his other hand wrapped around the metal.

The gun felt comfortable in his fingers, almost light, as he pointed it to the head of the man whose back he had pressed against himself.

The gasps and sudden shouts were immediate and inevitable, women on the opposite side of the store shrieking in horror at the sight. The man working behind the counter seemed just as shocked. There was panic in everybody’s eyes.

“Everybody stand still and nobody will get hurt,” he said quietly, his calm voice somehow overpowering all those horrified gasps. His eyes were shooting between the people in the jewellery store, not missing a single detail. “Get down on the floor and don’t move.”

He could feel the chest of the man in his arms heaving up and down. He could see the panic in the eyes of those people around them as they slowly started descending to the ground, witnessing him holding a gun to another person’s head.

His eyes shot up to the man behind the counter and the way he was trying to step back. A hand was trying to sneak underneath the counter.  

Jongin pointed the gun towards him then, the hold around the shorter man’s shoulders only tightening.

“You don’t want to do this,” Jongin said, raising his eyebrows when the worker immediately froze in his tracks. He was not going to press that button. Not when Jongin had a gun pointing at him. “Let’s not make this messy.”

Jongin returned the gun to the man’s head, challenging eyes going over the room. Nobody dared move. Nobody even dared to breathe. A woman was sobbing on the ground, looking terrified.

“Don’t move, sweetheart,” he whispered in the man’s ear, sliding the bag off his shoulder and throwing it on the counter. His eyes shot towards the jeweller.

The worker seemed beyond terrified when Jongin pointed the gun towards him again.

“Start filling that up, old man,” he said, then tapped the gun on the glass counter towards all those rings. The clanking sound filled the entire store, mixing with those horrified breaths.

Jongin’s breathing became heavier as he watched the older man reach down with his trembling hands to pull out the trays with rings. He started shakily putting them in the bag. One by one.

Good.

His eyes shot back to the people on the ground. Two women were holding each other, their purses dropped on the ground. They were looking at him with horror in their eyes, something beyond concern every time their eyes shot towards the man he was holding a gun to.

Something like relief.

That it wasn’t them. That it wasn’t their life that was in danger.

Another young man was on the ground behind them, looking at him with fully blown eyes and parted lips.

Jongin almost scoffed. Men could be such cowards sometimes. _Stupid_ cowards.

“Put that phone down,” Jongin raised his voice as he hissed, seeing the intent in that man’s eyes. “Put it down or I swear I will blow his _fucking_ brains out.”

He pressed the gun tightly to the temple of the man he was still holding in his arms. To his credit, he finally heard a little whimper and he finally felt fingers digging into his arm.

Jongin almost smirked when he saw the man dropping the phone to the ground.

“Good. Now slide it towards me.”

Jongin’s eyes kept flashing from one corner to the other, making sure that the old jeweller behind the counter wasn’t going to try anything funny, then back to the group of people on the ground. Seconds later, that black phone was sliding towards him on the floor of the store.

He only needed to spare one look down to the screen, to feel his smirk evaporating, being replaced by a deep scowl instead.

The screen was active. The call was ongoing. 112.

“ _You motherfucking_ -“ Jongin hissed, throwing a nasty look towards that man cowering behind the women. He set his jaw, arm tightening around the shorter man’s shoulder as he raised the gun towards the jeweller. “Close the bag and give it to me. _Now_.”

He stepped forward, dragging the smaller body of the man in his arms along with himself as he waited for the old man to close the bag with shaky fingers. He threw it over his shoulder with one swift movement, then flashed a glance down to the phone on the floor.

He felt rage in his chest and adrenaline pumping in his blood.

He brought his foot down with as much force as he could. There was a shattering sound and when he looked back down, the screen of the phone was black. The glass was shattered on the floor.

“Don’t you dare fucking move,” Jongin warned, gun moving from the jeweller to the group of whimpering people on the ground as he started backing up. Dragging that man along with himself.

Moving back, holding him tight. Keeping the gun raised.

He didn’t stop moving back until his back pushed the door of the store open. Until he was out in the dark evening on the corner of the street, slowly lowering the gun before anyone could see it. Before he would get in an even bigger mess.

“Move it,” he said quietly as soon as they were out, his arm loosening its grip on the other man’s shoulders.

He turned towards him, shooting him a look with his wide eyes, before they were both running down the street. Jongin’s fingers were tightly wrapped around the handle of the bag, as they rounded a corner of some small, dark street.

“Are you a fucking idiot?!” the smaller man asked as they kept moving forward, glaring at him. Jongin didn’t even have to look to know that he was glaring at him. “How many times do I have to tell you to make sure no one has a phone before you start threatening people with guns?!”

“Let’s do this later, ok?” Jongin asked, the rush getting to his head as he threw a look behind his shoulder. There was no one following them. For now. “That little cockroach dialled the police. We only have a few minutes before they get here.”

The man in front of him just grunted and Jongin was pretty sure he heard a rather colourful insult slipping past his full lips. He saw the tinier frame in front of him pausing for a few seconds, eyes looking around the little street – assessing and careful. There were barely any people there, which was good.

Jongin knew what that meant. He reached out towards the bag and grabbed the kit from the front pocket. He tossed it towards the other man.

His steps were confident as he crossed the street and passed by all the flashy cars until he reached an older looking one. That one would be easier to crack open.

Jongin threw another look to the end of the street as the other man pulled out a little knife and leaned down, hands experienced and fingers quick. Not even fifteen seconds later the door at the driver’s side was open and he was inside. Jongin almost breathed out in relief when his partner reached out to push the passenger door open for him to slide inside the car.

“Hurry up,” he said, throwing the bag down in his legs. “We need to get out of here.”

“Yeah, _no shit._ ”

Jongin held his breath when Kyungsoo whipped out a screwdriver and leaned down to work his magic behind the wheel of the car. There were little mutters and grunts coming from his direction and Jongin’s eyes were jumping from his thick, furrowed eyebrows to the end of the street. He was pretty sure he could already hear sirens in the distance.

He held his breath when Kyungsoo held the screwdriver between his teeth and his fingers pulled on the wires. He was concentrated, as he touched the two wires together.

Nothing happened.

Jongin ran a tongue over his lower lip.

Kyungsoo’s frown deepened, as he exposed more of the wires with his little knife, then pressed the rods together again.

Jongin looked up to the end of the street. There was a commotion going on there.

He was just about to look to the side and remind the shorter man that they didn’t have all the time in the world, just gently nudge him to hurry up, but the quiet rumble of the engine coming alive made him shut up and sigh out in relief instead.

Kyungsoo let out a breath, as he flashed a look towards him. Jongin’s smirk was victorious when Kyungsoo’s fingers gripped the steering wheel and he pressed his foot on the pedal of the car.

It was an older car, nothing special. Nothing suspicious, as they drove past the commotion on the street. In the distance, Jongin could see the lights of the police cars approaching. His victorious smirk evolved into a mocking smile when they simply passed by each other on the busy street, his heart almost bursting out of his chest.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Kyungsoo breathed out a few seconds later as he simply speeded up. The faster they got away from here, the better.

“Yeah,” Jongin agreed, finally leaning back into the seat of the unknown car they had just hotwired. “We did it.”

Kyungsoo just shot him a look again, not slowing down for even a moment.

“What the fuck was all that about anyways?!”

“Hm? What?”

“ _I’ll blow his fucking brains out_? Really?” the man scoffed. “That’s original.”

“I knew you’d like that,” Jongin grinned, closing his eyes as Kyungsoo kept driving down the road. “Spectacular acting, by the way. For a moment it actually sounded like you were scared.”

“Gotta give them something, right?”

Jongin smirked, looking out the window and the buildings flashing by them in a blur. The lights of the stores in the night illuminated everything in a creepy, yet somewhat entrancing way. He couldn’t look away.

It was routine. Something both of them had mastered. Little robberies in corner stores and gas stations weren’t a problem. But trickier ones, like this – places in the middle of the city, where the police could get to them in minutes, where they could really get caught or hurt if they weren’t being careful – now those ones required some extra effort on their part.

The easiest way they’d found so far would be to have a victim. Nothing got people more horrified than the prospect of witnessing another human being murdered.

And what could be easier than having one of them pretend to be that victim? It made things so much easier – there was no struggling, there was no actual fear that they’d hurt someone. No. It was a good plan. A good play to put up in order to scare the people and then get what they wanted.

Nothing could be easier than that – working together with your partner while getting money handed to you.

Jongin just smirked again at the lights of the stores that became rarer and further as they rode out of the city.

Nothing could be easier than that. Not when the gun wasn’t even loaded.

They kept driving until the night became even darker and with every passing second Jongin’s chest started feeling lighter and lighter, the clutches of adrenaline and panic slowly releasing his soul. They kept driving until they reached the spot where they had parked their own car, safely hidden from the eyes of curious by-passers.

Jongin shut the door of the car they had stolen behind himself as he moved to the passenger seat of their old cabrio. The seat felt almost like home at this point. He waited for Kyungsoo to join him.

He didn’t even spare another look to the car they abandoned behind their backs, when Kyungsoo turned towards him, a small smirk finally present on his lips after all that scowling from earlier.

“So? How’d we do?”

Jongin blinked quickly, away from the man’s smirk and down to the bag he was holding on to so tightly. He picked it up between them, pulling the zipper open.

Satisfaction tugged on his heartstrings when he saw the green emeralds, the blue sapphires and the red rubies. Small stones on small silver bands. It wasn’t something huge, but it wasn’t something small either. They’d definitely scored.

When he looked up to Kyungsoo, he was met with a wicked heart-shaped smile. He didn’t need to say anything. His expression as self explanatory. He just grinned as he started their car, fingers tapping on the wheel.

“Where to?”

Jongin closed the bag and put it back between his legs, resting his arm on the door of the cabrio and closing his eyes for a moment, breathing in deeply. He felt the freedom soaking in his body as he let the little smile pull his lips up.

“I think we deserve a drink.”

Kyungsoo’s chuckle was quiet and almost ghostly, the sound of it getting lost in the sweet rumble of the engine as the car started moving forward and they got the hell out of there.

* * *

Jongin was resting his head on the pillow of the couch, legs throws over the edge as he continued reading the book.

There was something incredibly relaxing in just lying down in a safe space, letting your mind wander to places that didn’t exist, letting stories play behind your eyes. Letting reality slip away and take him far, far away from here for a while.

It would be a stretch to call this place an apartment. It was place they were renting in an old building in a very sketchy area of town. Like, the area of town where people wouldn’t be asking many questions.

It was the perfect place for them. The perfect hideout.

It wasn’t much. The dye on the walls was chipped, there were questionable stains on the wooden floors. The smell of mold was perpetual, and it never disappeared, not even when they kept the old, cracked windows open. It was hardly anything, really.

But it was home.

Four walls and a roof. That’s all they needed.

Jongin tried to continue reading his book, but the constant noises coming from the corner of the room kept distracting him.

He looked over his book, to the man sitting on the tiny table, looking at the different guns lined on the surface. His fingers were picking on different parts of the weapons, turning them around and inspecting them. Picking them up and testing their weight in his arms. Aiming them towards the wall.

Looking at Kyungsoo’s face and his expressions changing was just as entertaining as reading his books. His eyes were so expressive. Whenever he liked something his eyes would shine and his lips would lift the tiniest bit. Whenever he disliked something his entire face would darken, a certain scowl visible in his irises. It was like a movie playing out on the canvas that his face was.

But right now, as Kyungsoo dropped yet another gun back on the table with a loud clattering sound, Jongin set his jaw and let out a sharp breath. He shot a glare over the pages of his book.

“By any means,” he said. “Be louder.”

Kyungsoo shot him a look then, his eyes lingering on him for a couple seconds, before he returned them to the table.

“You’ve read that book like a thousand times already. Don’t you get bored of it?”

“Don’t you get bored of being a bitch?”

“Careful now,” Kyungsoo said, his voice low. “You’re talking to a person who’s holding a gun in each hand as we speak.”

“And you’re talking to a person who’s trying to read here.”

Jongin almost buried his face in the pillow to scream in agony and frustration when Kyungsoo just gave him a hard look and started making even more noise with the clattering metal hitting the table. Fuck him.

Another few minutes of deliberate glaring and sound making passed, before they finally settled. Jongin kept shooting looks towards Kyungsoo until the older man finally stilled down. What a stubborn creature. Why couldn’t he just do things when he was asked to? Why did he always have to make it harder? Jongin just rolled his eyes, returning to his book and appreciating the silence.

“Anyways, we need to drive to the bar later,” Kyungsoo said some time later, wiping his hands in his jeans. “Need to find buyers for those rings.”

“How much do you think we’ll make from them?”

Kyungsoo hummed as he stood up from the chair, the legs scraping against the old wooden floor. He headed to the little kitchen corner, reaching up to open the cupboards.

“Not much, I reckon. Those stones are quite small.”

“I was afraid you’d say that,” Jongin groaned as he sat up. His hand flew up to his face, rubbing on his eyes. It was kind of disappointing, but they were used to it. Not every robbery was a success. And even if it was, it wasn’t always a bountiful one. He looked up when he heard Kyungsoo being noisy again. He closed the doors of the overhead cupboards with a little too much force, eyes in search of something. Jongin just sniffed, squinting at him. “What are you looking for?”

“Coffee.” Kyungsoo’s voice sounded grumpy as he squatted down to look in other cupboards. Jongin was almost too tempted to warn him not to open the one under the sink. He never knew what he would find in _that_ one. “Why are we always out of coffee?”

“Because you always drink it.”

“There are literally only two things that I need. Coffee and condoms. And somehow, we’re always out of both.” Kyungsoo grumbled and Jongin just snickered, setting his book aside and stretching his worn out muscles. He just kept throwing looks towards Kyungsoo’s back every time he heard yet another drawer being shut with malice.

“ _Fuck this_ ,” Kyungsoo sounded annoyed as he stood up, reaching out to grab a black hoodie that was hanging from the back of a chair. He dragged it on, the hood covering part of his head. His pitch black hair was unruly and his eyes were just as dark and annoyed as the rest of his expression, when he looked towards Jongin. “Get up. Let’s just go and get this job done. And then we’re getting fucking coffee on the way back.”

“I don’t even _like_ coffee.”

“Fine. We’ll get you a banana milk then. Now _get up_.”

* * *

Jongin had sunglasses on, but the sunlight was still too bright for him to not frown as he stopped the car at the gas station.

It was early in the morning, the sun had barely just risen, and it was already so hot and so bright and all he wanted to do was sleep. But they had places to be and they had people to meet.

“You fill the tank, I’ll go get us something to eat.”

Kyungsoo nodded at him, keeping his words to a minimum. He wasn’t that big of a morning person either.

Jongin just watched him as he got out of the car and grabbed the petrol pump with lethargic movements and sleepy eyes. He smiled a little, before heading towards the station. They were in desperate need of food.

Jongin took his time browsing through the aisles. There wasn’t that big of a choice at gas stations but they were one of those few, remote places where he could allow himself to linger a little bit longer. The risk was always higher in the cities.

He got a can of nuts, he got some sandwiches, chips and a chocolate. He picked up a cast of beer from the side, along with two bottles of water. That would do it for now.

He headed to the cash register, placing everything in front of some young teenage boy who seemed to be just about as awake as he was. Not much.

“That, plus station number three,” Jongin jugged his chin towards the window and the barely awake cashier just nodded absentmindedly.

“That will be 82,54 dollars. Anything else?”

Jongin just shook his head, finishing out his wallet and pulling out a hundred dollar bill. There were only two of those left in his wallet right now. Hopefully, soon enough, there’d be some more. A lot more.

He grabbed the cast of beer in one hand, perching the bag with the food on top of it.

He could see Kyungsoo from here, leaning against their car in his black jeans and black hoodie. The rays of the rising sun made his skin look even fairer and the black of his hair – even darker.

Jongin just took a few sweet moment looking at his partner, fingers tightening around the beer.

His eyes then moved to the side, his vision catching a paper that was flying off the wall every now and then with the turn of the fan on the counter.

He almost laughed when he recognized what it was. Those _Wanted_ posters. The ones Kyungsoo and him had made so much fun of when they’d first seen them some years ago. The ones with their blurry pictures on them, with their names and with an ambitious urge to the people to look for them. The paper seemed winded up, old and aged. Like it had been hanging there for a while with no one paying much attention to it.

And maybe nobody did. It was an outdated way to be looking for criminals, he supposed.

For good measure, though, he threw a look over his shoulder, back to that young clerk behind the register. He had his earphones in, chin perched on his hand. He looked bored. And he didn’t seem to be in any way alarmed by Jongin. He didn’t seem to be paying any attention to him whatsoever.

So he hadn’t recognized him. That was good. One less thing to worry about.

Jongin took advantage of that. That boy wasn’t even looking up to him anymore – he had paid already, after all, right?

He just smirked as he reached out to grab the paper, ripping it off the wall and crumpling it in his fingers. He grabbed two things from the aisle he was passing by, quickly stashing them in the plastic bag and then he beelined out of the gas station.

“Took you long enough,” Kyungsoo grumbled when he saw him coming. He had a cigarette between his fingers, still unlit. Waiting for them to probably move a little bit further away from the petrol pumps. That was wise.

“Sorry. Got a bit distracted. They have our faces hanging in there, you know?” 

“Not those old posters.”

“Yep,” Jongin popped his lips at the end of the word, rounding the car and seating himself naturally in the driver’s seat. Kyungsoo sat down next to him with a groan.

“They should make new ones. Use some better pictures instead. I look like a kid in that one.”

“I think you look cute in it,” Jongin said, putting the cast with beer in the back seat. Then he turned around, starting the car. The roar was louder, fuller this time around. He could practically feel Kyungsoo shooting daggers at him from the side. “Anyways, I got you something.”

Jongin opened the bag and handed Kyungsoo one of the sandwiches. He also handed him the canned coffee with raised eyebrows.

“Happy?”

“Fuck you.” Kyungsoo muttered, but there was no viciousness in his voice this time around. Instead, he took the coffee with a little, almost euphoric smile.

“ _Ah_! I thought you might say that, so…”

He picked up the other thing he had stolen from the station, tossing it in Kyungsoo’s lap. His smirk just widened when Kyungsoo picked up the box between his fingers and realization slowly spread on his face.

Kyungsoo turned to look at him, an entertained glint in his already not so sleepy eyes.

“You did say we’re always out of coffee and condoms, right? Well,” Jongin gestured towards the coffee can and the pack of condoms in Kyungsoo’s hands. “Now we’re not.”

Kyungsoo laughed then, a small and bright sound leaving his heart-shaped lips and Jongin couldn’t help his own smile from spreading on his face.

He felt Kyungsoo’s hand on his neck then, fingers twisting behind his nape and pulling him down.

Their lips met in the middle, locking together in a deep, yet languid kiss. Lazy, just like the mornings they never had.

Kyungsoo sure took his time kissing him and Jongin sure took his time enjoying it.

By the time he started feeling nails scraping the skin of his neck he was starting to lose his breath. They parted then, noses still brushing together for a few moments as they caught their breaths.

“Thanks,” Kyungsoo said eventually, leaning back in his seat. Jongin just winked at him, raising his hand to pull down the sunglasses again. The car started moving forward, down the highway.

Kyungsoo threw a look at him, working his canned coffee open.

“You look like a douchebag when you wear those. Just saying.”

Jongin smirked, fingers tightening around the crumpled papers in his hands.

“Babe, I _am_ a douchebag. We both are.”

Kyungsoo didn’t seem to have anything to say against that, because he just shrugged with a sort of accepting face, holding his coffee can in one hand and that cigarette in the other. Jongin just smirked, raising his hand and throwing the crumpled sheets of paper with their faces on them out of the car, letting the wind blow them far, far away from where they were.

He just smiled, watching Kyungsoo resting his feet on the headboard of the car, the wind blowing his beautiful hair back, eyes closed in bliss as the morning sun caressed his skin.

Jongin’s lips stretched in an even wider smile.

Some people knew who they were. Some people were afraid of them. They were right to be.

They may have hated them together, but they couldn’t stop them.

Nothing could.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter: @jongnugget


End file.
